So you’re considering selling your home. Well, you’ve come to the right place! While this is supposed to be an incredibly exciting time, it is also one of the more stressful chapters in a person’s life. We’re here to help, and we love doing it—not only by mitigating the stress and keeping the deal on track, but by educating you throughout the transaction to realize the full value of your home. As your real estate agent, we’re not only bound by state licensure laws, but also the rules and code of ethics prescribed through the National Association of Realtors, as well as the Indiana Association of Realtors. Both of those entities control through written word on paper, but the truest control of our fiduciary responsibility to you is our internal character of professionalism and integrity. The advice we provide will be the same advice we’d provide our dearest family member or friend, and the actions we suggest will be the very steps we would take for our own home sale. As your agent, these are a few of the items we will complete during our representation:
- An in-house consultation to view your home and advise on necessary and recommended repairs and updates to best show your home to potential buyers.
- Complete a CMA (Comparative Market Analysis) for all similar homes that are Active, Pending or have Sold, to determine the market value of your home.
- Complete a Sellers Net Sheet to show an estimate of all costs associated with selling your home, so you’ll have a clear understanding of the funds you’ll leave the closing table with.
- Establish a marketing plan to achieve the optimal sales price, in the ideal time frame, considering all market variables for that specific time and area.
- Take those beautiful pictures and write the eloquent property description, which serve as the most vital step in selling your home. No matter what media platform we place your home on, the pictures and description will carry the most significant weight to get your home viewed and sold.
- Set the CREG For Sale sign in the front yard, and place the encoded, electronic lock box on your home, so only licensed agents can enter the home for their scheduled private showings.
- Place your home on the BLC (Brokers Listing Cooperative / MLS) and the multiple sister websites and private websites to give your home the greatest exposure to potential buyers…Remember those photos and description? This is where they shine!
- Schedule private showings for Realtors to show their clients, and gather those agents and their clients’ feedback on your home and consider adjustments to price, presentation and marketing strategy, based on the incoming information.
- Not schedule Open Houses, as we don’t have them on our personally owned homes – They can result in damage or thefts from the home, and predominantly serve to market the agent and their company, rather than the seller’s home.
- Maintain ongoing dialogue with local Realtors to get an offer, or two, in hand, at which time the negotiations begin!
- Prepare all necessary documents for the counteroffers, and verify necessary accompanying documents, such as buyer pre-approval letters and evidence of earnest money, are submitted with the offer.
- Aggressively negotiate the terms of the offer: Purchase price, closing time frame, possession period and seller’s assistance.
- Provide the norms and realistic expectations during the buyer’s home inspection period, which tend to have greater negotiations than the original offer. Recommend appropriate contractors to review any required repairs and prepare necessary documents for the Inspection Response(s).
- Counsel you through the appraisal process, and if necessary, re-negotiate offer terms and prepare the necessary documentation to address a low appraisal.
- Be present at closing to ensure your interests are protected and the closing and possession exchange are as seamless possible.
- This is when we walk across the hallway of the title office and handle your closing on your purchase, which is called a double closing, and is every seller’s dream situation. These are tough to coordinate, with so many variables in play, but we’ll always counsel you on the realities and do our very best to make this happen…..As long as the home being purchased is “The Home,” and not just “The One That’s Available!”